Chapter 115: Yingzhou

The land north of Ji, rivers crisscrossing, waterways well-developed, the Hutuo River as one of the main water arteries, held immense military and economic value. In the original history, from the Later Jin onward, through Han, Zhou, and up to the Zhao Song, within this river basin, too many wars occurred between the Khitan and China.

The Hutuo River originates in the Dai region, flows south then turns back, cutting through the Taihang Mountains, and empties into Hebei. Situated in the heart of Hebei, yet whenever war broke out, the Khitan iron cavalry could always water their horses in this river.

Looking at the Song-Liao wars over the twenty-plus years before the Chanyuan Treaty, one can intuitively see that apart from the two northern expeditions, it was basically the Liao army fighting within its own borders. Even during the two northern expeditions, after their failure, when the Liao army launched its "counterattack and retaliation," it drove straight in, plunging deep into central Hebei. Enemy cavalry burst into the heartland as if entering uninhabited territory, and the Song army had no way to deal with it, only passively taking the beating.

And the Three Passes of Hebei that were built (Waqiao Pass, Yijin Pass, Yuko Pass) were virtually useless; compared to militarily defending against and containing the Liao army, they seemed to serve more as border passes demarcating the national boundary. Youyan lost to the enemy, without the barrier of the Yan Mountains' passes, the defensive pressure on the southern state's northern border was unimaginable.

The Central Plains, having lost the Youyan shield, how passive it would be when facing northern aggression—the war between the Khitan and Jin had already clearly demonstrated this. However, even though the Jin state was destroyed, the feelings of the soldiers and civilians of Hebei in the Central Plains were still not profound enough; in most people's view, the Khitan's destruction of Jin was due to the emperor's fatuousness and mediocre ministers in power weakening the state, not a fault of the military.

Without having experienced decades of unchanging humiliation, that feeling of being ridden over and shat upon, of having one's spine bent by the iron hooves of the Liao army, of being wantonly raided for supplies and plundered for wealth—the helplessness and bitterness. Before the humiliation and pain had cut to the bone, the scholars and commoners of Hebei in the Central Plains had not yet contracted "Liao-phobia," and could not imagine just how heavy the words "Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun" truly were.

But now, in Yingzhou, Guo Rong seemed to have sensed it. He seemed to understand why Liu Chengyou had acted against his usual nature, gone his own way stubbornly, even gambling everything without hesitation.

He had come to Yingzhou on Liu Chengyou's orders to reward the troops and conduct an inspection. Hearing is ultimately not as good as seeing; Guo Rong was naturally a man of great strategic vision. Following the lower reaches of the Hutuo River northeastward on inspection, surveying the flat open plains along the entire route, Guo Rong's brows furrowed deeply.

According to He Fujin, this stretch of open road could go straight to the Baigou and Juma River area, and from there it was barely a hundred li to Youzhou. The enemy comes south easily, we go north with difficulty—after personally making the journey, this was Guo Rong's deepest realization.

By the water's edge, several beacon towers were erected. These were personally built by He Fujin after he took office. With insufficient material resources, weak manpower, and not enough time, only four were built extending thirty li northward. No other expectation, only that if enemy cavalry came raiding, they could receive warning in time and react early.

Before the northernmost beacon tower, reining in his horse by the bank, watching the water rushing northward, Guo Rong suddenly sighed with emotion: "This Hutuo River water, truly worthy of its name—roaring and torrential, indeed fierce!"

Under the sunlight, the Hutuo River's waters sparkled with glimmering ripples, extremely swift, wave after wave crashing against the shoals, like a fierce beast, as if wanting to devour people. Guo Rong's mood seemed affected by it; on his stern face, there was considerable apprehension.

He Fujin, Defense Commissioner of Yingzhou, was accompanying him at the side. The old general with gray hair and white beard could still mount a horse and draw a bow, clad in full armor, sitting on horseback, hand on sword, back straight. Hearing Guo Rong's sigh, he casually chimed in: "This river has always been famous for its swift currents!"

His brows furrowing, the worry on Guo Rong's face grew heavier: "If Yingzhou is like this, then how much more so Shenzhou. With this river's current ferocity, it's worrying!"

After the Hutuo River emerges from the mountains, it flows through Zhengding eastward, passes Shenzhou, and near Raoyang has a divergence—one branch goes south into the great river's northern flow, one branch goes north through Yingzhou to Hejian. Because this river's nature is swift and fierce, and the soil along its banks is loose and prone to collapse, the lower reaches constantly silt up and burst, frequently causing floods, with Shenzhou being the most severe—this was well known. Hence after the divergence, by the time it reached Hejian, the current was still so swift, and Guo Rong instinctively worried about the situation in Shenzhou.

He Fujin clearly didn't have much feeling about such matters. He glanced at Guo Rong and said: "The trouble of water currents is ultimately a minor concern; the iron cavalry of the barbarian hordes is the great concern!"

Guo Rong couldn't help but glance at He Fujin. Though he didn't agree with his words, he had no intention of arguing. Given the current state of the nation, peace and stability under heaven was still a luxury; where was the leisure to pay attention to flood concerns, let alone manage them. Moreover, even if one had the will, where was the strength?

Setting aside his thoughts, Guo Rong pointed north and asked: "What's the situation in Renqiu?"

Ying and Mo prefectures both belonged to the "Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun," and during the cession to Liao were both under the jurisdiction of the Liao Southern Capital circuit. Yingzhou bordered Shenzhou to the west, connected to Cangzhou to the east, and Mo Prefecture lay to its north. Renqiu was the seat of Mo Prefecture, not far from Hejian city—only a little over sixty li—a neighbor right before one's eyes, with no obstacles between the two cities.

He Fujin had taken office in Yingzhou and seized Hejian, but had not continued northward. At this question, he said to Guo Rong: "After retaking Hejian, a Liao general once led troops south, and I drove them back. According to investigations, after the enemy drove the people south, there are still several hundred Xi cavalry in Renqiu city, constantly raiding southward. Though their fighting strength is not as good as the Khitan tribal soldiers, they are still endlessly troublesome!"

Pointing at the beacon tower behind and to the side: "To build these few beacon towers, Yingzhou paid with over a hundred soldiers' casualties, and the deaths and injuries among the common people were even greater!"

He Fujin spoke very calmly, but Guo Rong could hear the difficulty behind his words. Looking at the old general, he solemnly bowed: "Old General, you have worked hard!"

"What hardship do I have? Can it compare to those soldiers who died or were wounded, those common people who perished?" The old general's beard puffed as he said in a booming voice.

He Fujin's tone was somewhat harsh, and Guo Rong was left embarrassed, but he didn't take it to heart, accompanying him with a faint smile. Seeing He Fujin gazing coldly toward the north, he said softly: "Sooner or later, we will retake Mo Prefecture, retake Youyan!"

Hearing this, He Fujin couldn't help but laugh out loud—a scoffing laugh—shaking his head: "You young fellows, is Youzhou so easy to retake?"

Guo Rong still maintained a humble demeanor and did not argue. Some things, mere words were useless. But in his heart, his estimation of He Fujin rose considerably—such an old general, serving merely as a Defense Commissioner, was too much of a waste.

"Chief Inspector Guo, we've patrolled the river and seen the city. This place is too close to Renqiu, not safe. Better to return!" At this moment, He Fujin suddenly said.

"I'm obliged to the Old General for accompanying me!" Seeing this, Guo Rong still maintained a low posture, saying to him: "Then let us return to Hejian!"

Hejian city, formerly named Wuyuan, as its name suggests, lay between two rivers. It was a large city, but unfortunately isolated on all sides, with no natural defenses to rely on—not a place for defense and battle. After He Fujin took office, he relocated most of the common people to Leshou County in the south for settlement, and subsequently gathered refugees were also handled the same way, while he personally led troops to garrison and defend.

Hence, the Hejian city that Guo Rong was inspecting at this time was somewhat desolate.

Shortly after returning to the city, smoke signals rose from the north—barbarian bandits were coming to attack. Accompanying this was the news that Yelu Ruan had proclaimed himself emperor.